The WNBA features six active Most Valuable Players. Chicago Sky forward Elena Delle Donne, who is not an MVP, is as good as any of them.

That's why the Sky's 15-19 regular season was so deceptive. Delle Donne, 24, had a flare-up of Lyme disease and missed 18 games. She has returned to her normal self during the playoffs, meaning the Sky are not a normal No. 4 seed.

To reach the WNBA Finals for a third time, the Indiana Fever must restrain Delle Donne, beginning with Saturday's Game 1 of the best-of-3 Eastern Conference finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Delle Donne scored 17 of her 34 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday at Atlanta, including the winning basket, in an 81-80 victory that eliminated the No. 1-seeded Dream. The Sky had trailed by 20 points in the second quarter, 19 in the third, 17 in the fourth.

"She wanted to win. You could tell she didn't want it to be her last game," the Fever's Shavonte Zellous said of Delle Donne.

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Before the playoffs, Delle Donne had gone since June 6 without playing more than 23 minutes in a game. In three games against Atlanta, she averaged 24.9 points in 35 minutes. During her abbreviated regular season, she averaged 17.9 in 26 minutes.

"I mean, I really love her game," Zellous said. "She's 6-5, can basically do everything a guard can. She doesn't like to post up as much, but she can. She's an unbelievable athlete."

Delle Donne's story has been well documented.

She originally committed to University of Connecticut but decided that was too far from her Wilmington, Del., home and older sister Lizzie, who has cerebral palsy and is blind and deaf. Delle Donne instead played at Delaware, leading the Blue Hens to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 2013. Her 3,039 points rank sixth in NCAA history, and she led the nation in scoring (28.1) as a junior.

Delle Donne was last year's WNBA Rookie of the Year and helped the Sky reach the No. 1 seed in the East. However, the Fever ousted the Sky 2-0 in the first round. The Fever's Tamika Catchings — an MVP in 2011 — said Delle Donne will be "one of those players you talk about" when she ends her career.

"We continue to talk about how good she will be and how good she's been," Catchings said.

Coach Lin Dunn said the Fever would assign Catchings to defend Delle Donne, but also Karima Christmas and even center Erlana Larkins. Larkins would be available only if Chicago's 6-6 center Sylvia Fowles were on the bench.

"It's not just a one-on-one matchup. It's a whole team," Catchings said. "Every single game, I feel like there's that one player on the other team where the whole team has to focus on helping whoever's guarding her, and this game it's Delle Donne."

Catchings, too, missed half the season. She has had good games and bad since returning from a back injury, but she has been at her best in August. Over her past five games, she has averaged 23.4 points, and the Fever are 5-0.

The Fever were 3-2 against Chicago in the regular season, 1-1 against Delle Donne. Dunn said the Fever have benefited from rest since eliminating the Washington Mystics 2-0 last week. The Fever should also benefit from the home court, Dunn added, although they were 7-10 at home in the regular season.

"Our team is clicking right where we want it to be," Catchings said. "Everyone's excited. You just feel the energy from one another."